Regan Flieg: Adulthood and Practicality in The Chronicles of Narnia

In “Ethics of Elfland,” Chesterton opens with a reflection on pragmatics and idealism (81).  He recounts his experience of being told that with age he would have to abandon his idealism in favor of the practical and how in actuality, he has done nothing of the sort, instead choosing to hold fast to the ideals he sees as much more reliable and lasting than the “reality” of the practical (Chesterton 81-82).  Chesterton’s reflection here provides two alternative dispositions for adults: one which is focused on the practical and one which holds fast to ideals.  These two kinds of adults are aptly visible in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.

In The Magician’s Nephew, Lewis describes Uncle Andrew as “dreadfully practical” (136).  This description coincides with Uncle Andrew’s encounter with the Talking Beasts (Lewis, Magician’s Nephew 136).  Instead of marveling at the wonder of these Beasts and the way they were selected, Uncle Andrew was interested “only in seeing whether they were going to make a rush at him” (Lewis, Magician’s Nephew 136).  Like the “venerable and philanthropic old men” who had urged Chesterton to forget his ideals and turn to the practical, Uncle Andrew is only concerned with the practical matter of survival and thus disregards wonder (Chesterton 81).  Similarly, when he witnessed the growth of the lamp-post into a tree, Uncle Andrew was only concerned with the practical “commercial possibilities” of this world which he himself recognized as “bursting with life and growth” but failed to truly marvel at or respect (Lewis, Magician’s Nephew 120).

Luckily, Uncle Andrew’s mentality is not the only picture of adulthood that Lewis provides in his stories of Narnia.  In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we encounter Digory all grown up as the Professor, who entertains the possibility of a door to another world existing in his house and believes the whole story of Narnia from the children when they admit to leaving his coats behind there (Lewis, Lion, Witch, Wardrobe 50, 187-188).  Lewis describes the Professor as “a very remarkable man” for his belief in the children’s story, and this description is harmonious with Chesterton’s opinion on the importance of holding onto idealism and wonder found throughout his “Ethics of Elfland” (Lewis, Lion, Witch, Wardrobe 188).


Chesterton, Gilbert K. “The Ethics of Elfland.”  Orthodoxy, John Lane Company, 1908, pp. 81-118.

Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. 1950.  Scholastic, Inc., 1995.

Lewis, C. S. The Magician’s Nephew. 1955.  Scholastic, Inc., 1995.

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